Bosnia and Herzegovina is a sovereign state in the southeastern region of Europe, found on the Balkan Peninsula and borders Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro. This nation has been through a multitude of financial struggles, yet there has been continued growth within Bosnia and Herzegovina. The country is now on the path to stable economic development.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Rates continue to improve substantially. For example, the unemployment rate among adults decreased from 25.4 percent in 2016 to about 20.5 percent in the first six months of 2017. This is a meaningful advancement for the country.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is also a candidate nation, which signifies that it could potentially be a partner within the European Union. This is a great opportunity for Bosnia and Herzegovina as it could accelerate the country’s economic and political systems even more quickly.

In addition to this hopeful alliance, the World Bank assists Bosnia and Herzegovina by both funding initiatives and formulating a new growth model.

Projects for Growth

Growth within Bosnia and Herzegovina begins with foreign aid from international organizations, particularly the World Bank, which will implement advanced infrastructural and economic structures within the country.

There are now 11 active projects within Bosnia and Herzegovina that will hasten reforms, and the World Bank will lend an overall $521.63 million to the nation.

Better Than Before

“Better than Before — Rebuilding Bosnia and Herzegovina” is one of the many projects that are currently active. The country witnessed devastating floods that impacted 25 percent of the population. Since the economy is agriculturally-based, they lost approximately 15 percent of the country’s GDP. This initiative salvaged 248 infrastructure facilities and helped 580,000 individuals.

“Banking Sector Strengthening Project” improves “banking regulation, supervision and resolution capacity and by enhancing the governance of the Entity development banks.” This will better banking among every sector since they plan to replace obsolete banking styles with improved strategies that will promote economic development.

“Bosnia and Herzegovina Employment Support Program” will increase private sector opportunities and jobs for citizens. It will allow better interaction and discourse for employers, employees, public policy makers, etc. It will also allow the government to expand active labor market programs.

There are eight more projects that will accelerate growth within Bosnia and Herzegovina. They address public health programs, transportation systems and energy efficiency.

New Model for Growth within Bosnia and Herzegovina

Growth within Bosnia and Herzegovina also starts with a new economic strategy. The new framework consists of structural reforms within the public and private sector.

The World Bank will:

• Encourage public policies that better public efficacy
• Create and implement initiatives that hasten private sector advancement
• Implement new strategies to counteract natural disasters/emergency crises

The World Bank will guide and fund this new growth model for Bosnia and Herzegovina and will continually advise the financing so economic growth occurs more rapidly.

Conclusion

The World Bank’s robust presence within Bosnia and Herzegovina is vital to its development as a sovereign state. This nation represents countries’ ability and capacity to progress and change economically.

Its history is sad and unfortunate, yet thankfully, Bosnia and Herzegovina is recovering and growing. The country has earned the right to be an E.U. candidate country.

– Diana Hallisey
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